1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle seat.
2. Description of Related Art
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 9-2109 (JP 9-2109 A) has been known as a vehicle seat including: a slide rail including a lower rail disposed on a vehicle component side such as a floor of a vehicle, and an upper rail disposed on a seat body side and supported by the lower rail so as to be movable in a sliding manner; and a cap provided in a longitudinal end of at least one of the lower rail and the upper rail. JP 9-2109 A describes a technique in which a synthetic-resin cap body fitted to a rear end of the lower rail having a U-shaped section includes a steel plate to be disposed between right and left side portions of the lower rail. In the technique in JP 9-2109 A, the synthetic-resin cap body is fitted to the rear end of the lower rail, so that the cap protects a rail end. Further, when a large load is applied to the slide rail due to a vehicle collision or the like, the large load is applied in a direction where the lower rail and the upper rail are separated from each other, which causes such a concern that the lower rail and the upper rail are deformed from their original shapes. Here, in the slide rail in JP 9-2109 A, when a large load is applied in the direction where the lower rail and the upper rail are separated from each other, the right and left side portions of the U-shaped lower rail are deformed so as to come closer to each other in a tapered manner, and move away from the upper rail. In view of this, in order to prevent deformation of the slide rail, the steel plate is provided between the right and left side portions of the U-shaped lower rail so as to restrain deformation of the lower rail. Note that JP 9-2109 A deals with an example in which the U-shaped rail is provided as the lower rail. In addition to this, there may be such an aspect in which the rail configurations in JP 9-2109 A may be provided in a reverse manner. In this case, the U-shaped rail is provided as an upper rail, and when a large load is applied to a slide rail, right and left side portions of the U-shaped upper rail exhibits such a deformation behavior that they are deformed so as to come closer to each other in a tapered manner.